Boston Map overlay site (historical, Inner Belt plans, etc.): mapjunction.com

[Rothman]

Do not believe any unspent funds from circa '70 plans were used on the "Big Dig".  They were used on transit spending in the seventies.  Remember the replacement Boeing Green Line articulated cars that replaced the smaller, single unit trolleys the green line had.  The older ones had class and nostalgia.  The Boeing LRV's were sterile in comparison.

It was definitely the argument put forward in Congress to secure federal funds for The Big Dig.

I seriously doubt MA made such a huge federal transfer of FHWA funding to FTA/MBTA, come to think of it.  Even NY hasn't transferred anywhere close to that kind of amount cumulatively over the years.  It is not a simple matter to just shift highway to transit funding, especially going all the way back then.

[pderocco]

As some here may know: prior to 1971, MA 3 went nowhere near Downtown Boston & didn't run along the Southeast Expressway north of Granite Ave./Neponset Circle (Exits 11 & 12 respectively).  MA 203 was MA 3 prior to 1971.

I know this was a rather old post, but what exactly was the Southeast Expwy designated before 1971? That's right when I got my license and started driving that road, although I had been on it countless times with Mom & Dad. I vaguely remember 3 exiting at Granite Ave, but did the remainder of the road have a route number? That predated I-93 by several years and US-1 by two decades. If it was unnumbered, it would have been the only unnumbered major freeway since the Mass Pike got its number in 1965.

[ixnay]

Most city properties in Boston proper in the sixties could be bought for a song.  Old brownstones and other older properties were not viewed as they are today.  The problem with the Boston highway circulation was the "funneling" into the Central Artery (obsolete when it opened) of all the connector routes to it.  They connected the Turnpike to it (circa '65) and then I-93 (reluctantly in '73).  The Belt would have dispersed a lot of the traffic, instead of concentrating it towards and directly on the Artery.  Yes they should have built the Inner Belt, and depressed as much as possible of it.  Later scenarios showed "tunneling" under the Fens, and the Charles River, where earlier plans had it all elevated.   So yes, personally believe a major mistake was made by Sargent in 1970.

What do you mean by "reluctantly"?

[DJStephens]

Referring to the closure of the NE expressway due to the gravel truck incident.  That was probably still I-95 then (1973).   The closure of the Tobin Bridge due to that incident prompted the Mass DPW to "open" the NW expressway (I-93) to the High Bridge over the Charles River.   It was already finished, but not open.   The thinking then among certain officials was that instant gridlock would be created, and in a sense, it did occur.  Everything fed directly into the Artery.  Remember sitting on the Artery in the eighties, and it was a mess.  The Inner Belt would have dispersed quite a bit of that traffic.   

[ixnay]

Referring to the closure of the NE expressway due to the gravel truck incident.  That was probably still I-95 then (1973).   The closure of the Tobin Bridge due to that incident prompted the Mass DPW to "open" the NW expressway (I-93) to the High Bridge over the Charles River.   It was already finished, but not open.   The thinking then among certain officials was that instant gridlock would be created, and in a sense, it did occur.  Everything fed directly into the Artery.  Remember sitting on the Artery in the eighties, and it was a mess.  The Inner Belt would have dispersed quite a bit of that traffic.   

Must've been a LOT of spillage.  Was the accident that bad?  Your profile has you living now in New Mexico but I assume you grew up in the Boston area.

[DRMan]

It was more than spillage. The bridge itself partially collapsed and was closed for two months. The truck driver was killed in the accident.

https://www.wgbh.org/news/post/greater-boston-video-1973-tobin-bridge-collapse

[PHLBOS]

As some here may know: prior to 1971, MA 3 went nowhere near Downtown Boston & didn't run along the Southeast Expressway north of Granite Ave./Neponset Circle (Exits 11 & 12 respectively).  MA 203 was MA 3 prior to 1971.

I know this was a rather old post, but what exactly was the Southeast Expwy designated before 1971? That's right when I got my license and started driving that road, although I had been on it countless times with Mom & Dad. I vaguely remember 3 exiting at Granite Ave, but did the remainder of the road have a route number? That predated I-93 by several years and US-1 by two decades. If it was unnumbered, it would have been the only unnumbered major freeway since the Mass Pike got its number in 1965.

When the Southeast Expressway & Central Artery were fully completed in 1959; neither were assigned a route number.  Such is one reason why traffic reporters & others used those terms for many years if not decades.

The first stetch of the Southeast Expressway to receive a relocated MA 3 designation was from the Braintree split to Granite Ave. (then MA 3/3A) circa 1962 when the new MA 3 (Pilgrims Highway) was fully completed.  Note: the northern piece of the latter was initially a southern extension of MA 128 until the entire length of the Pilgrim's Highway was completed.

[bob7374]

As some here may know: prior to 1971, MA 3 went nowhere near Downtown Boston & didn't run along the Southeast Expressway north of Granite Ave./Neponset Circle (Exits 11 & 12 respectively).  MA 203 was MA 3 prior to 1971.

I know this was a rather old post, but what exactly was the Southeast Expwy designated before 1971? That's right when I got my license and started driving that road, although I had been on it countless times with Mom & Dad. I vaguely remember 3 exiting at Granite Ave, but did the remainder of the road have a route number? That predated I-93 by several years and US-1 by two decades. If it was unnumbered, it would have been the only unnumbered major freeway since the Mass Pike got its number in 1965.

When the Southeast Expressway & Central Artery were fully completed in 1959; neither were assigned a route number.  Such is one reason why traffic reporters & others used those terms for many years if not decades.

The first stretch of the Southeast Expressway to receive a relocated MA 3 designation was from the Braintree split to Granite Ave. (then MA 3/3A) circa 1962 when the new MA 3 (Pilgrims Highway) was fully completed.  Note: the northern piece of the latter was initially a southern extension of MA 128 until the entire length of the Pilgrim's Highway was completed.

Based on a newspaper article I found, the last section of what they refer to as the Southeast Expressway between Hanover and Duxbury opened on Dec. 12, 1963. It was at that time that what was MA 3 between Quincy and Duxbury became MA 53. The Mass. state map for 1963 still shows that section as under construction, while it is shown as complete in the 1964 version.

[CharlesBahne]

Sorry for a somewhat belated post:

In response to ixnay on 12/7/2022, about the "gravel truck incident": The overloaded truck made a direct hit on one of the posts supporting the Tobin's upper deck, collapsing the deck above. There was relatively little spillage.

The entire area has changed drastically since then. The highways have been completely reconfigured and all of them have been rebuilt, first in the CANA project (completed 1994) and then the Big Dig (opened 2003). Many of the surface streets have also changed. The only recognizable highway today is the Tobin Bridge itself, although its approaches are different now. So don't look at a modern map and try to figure out what was where.

This was on the ramp connecting the northbound Central Artery with the Tobin Bridge. The Central Artery High Bridge over the Charles was double deck, and the Tobin is double deck. The northbound lanes were on the upper level of the High Bridge, but on the lower level of the Tobin.

The ramp made a tight S-curve on a downgrade in order to transition to the Tobin's lower level. The first bend of the S-curve was at the bottom of the downgrade, and then it became an upgrade. The truck was heavily overloaded, lost control on the downgrade, and hit the post square on. Part of the upper level dropped by several feet. Southbound cars had to jam the brakes to avoid going over the edge. Luckily it was very early rush hour, before 6:00 am.

The truck was hauling gravel from a quarry south of Boston, to fill in new land for Logan Airport. The Massachusetts Port Authority, which controls the airport, wanted the job done quickly; according to some reports, they "encouraged" the trucking company to fill its trucks as full as possible.

At that time the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority controlled the Sumner and Callahan Tunnels, and apparently the turnpike people didn't want the Port Authority's overloaded trucks in their tunnels. So the trucks were instead routed via the Tobin -- which at that time was also controlled by the Port Authority. That was a longer route, and used more local streets, but that was the Port Authority's wish.

(At that time the Central Artery was under the jurisdiction of the Mass. Dept. of Public Works, and nearby Storrow Drive was under the Metropolitan District Commission. So you had 4 different state agencies controlling different highways within a half-mile radius. And that doesn't count local streets under city jurisdiction. Oh yes, the Port Authority and the MDC had their own police forces, separate from the State Police.)

The Central Artery, the Tobin Bridge, and the Northeast Expressway were officially designated as part of Interstate 95 at that time, but they weren't signed for I-95. That's because it was a relatively short, isolated section of I-95, and wasn't connected to any other parts of the Interstate. Indeed, the connecting links to I-95 were never built at either end -- neither the Southwest Expressway, nor the I-95 segment through Saugus and Lynn.

The Central Artery and Southeast Expressway were signed for Mass. Route 3. Interstate 93, built but not yet opened, was designated to end at the Central Artery-Tobin junction (where it would have met I-95). The circumferential highway around Boston was simply Route 128; it didn't have any Interstate designation.

The decision not to build those connecting links of I-95 had just been finalized the previous November, and no new highway route designations had yet been made.

In fact, highway route designations through downtown Boston have a very complicated history, especially in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. At one point in time there was a U.S. Route 1, a state Route 1A, and a state Route C-1, plus several other "C-" routes (C-9, C-28, C-37, etc.). And even where the route numbers were designated, there were very few wayfinding signs. It was very easy to get lost if you weren't a local.

I have a 1963 Boston and Vicinity map that I found online -- H. M. Gousha/Sunoco. It appears to be an inset of a larger map, maybe one of Massachusetts. The Southeast Expressway, Central Artery, Tobin Bridge, and Northeast Expressway, none of them have any route designation. The Mass. Pike is shown as under construction.  I-93 is open from Route 60 (Salem St., Medford) north, and under construction as far south as Mystic Avenue. U.S. Route 1 used mostly parkways through Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, but local streets in Everett and Malden. Even though the Northeast and Southeast Expressways had been opened for 4 or 5 years, none of the numbered highways had been relocated to use them.

[DJStephens]

    Very good information.  This is a convoluted, complicated history, with all the competing jurisdictions, "fiefdoms" and political intrigue.  The route numbers have changed over time as well. 
    The basic Tobin Bridge structure has remained unchanged, although the Charlestown southern end was reconfigured under the CANA project.  The I-93 double decker weathered steel structure also has not substantially changed, either, since it's construction circa very early 1970's.   It's connection points to the Artery changes with the "big dig" as well.   Have to wonder, was any other possible configurations considered for that final piece of I-93 segment, mainly a ground level cross section??  It would have been far less visually obtrusive if at ground level.